Price adjustment in the London housing market

Recent research into the dynamic adjustment of prices within the London housing market is extended via the application of a novel two-step procedure. Combining the non-parametric analysis of the ranking distributions of the levels and changes in house prices with the application of a cross-sectional convergence technique, the analysis results in the detection of a three-tier system in which highly significant convergence clubs are identified within borough-level data. These findings contrast with both the divergence apparent when considering all boroughs and the failure of previous research to identify convergent groupings. The novelty of the empirical methods is supplemented by a discussion of various theoretical factors such as gentrification, displaced demand, immigration, foreign investment and criminal activity in relation to the findings obtained

A unified framework of density-based clustering for semi-supervised classification

Semi-supervised classification is drawing increasing attention in the era of big data, as the gap between the abundance of cheap, automatically collected unlabeled data and the scarcity of labeled data that are laborious and expensive to obtain is dramatically increasing. In this paper, we introduce a unified framework for semi-supervised classification based on building-blocks from density-based clustering. This framework is not only efficient and effective, but it is also statistically sound. Experimental results on a large collection of datasets show the advantages of the proposed framework

Lignin-First Approach to Biorefining: Utilizing Fenton’s Reagent and Supercritical Ethanol for the Production of Phenolics and Sugars

Selective lignin depolymerization (SLD) has emerged as a value-added method of pretreatment for lignocellulosic biorefining, in which lignin is depolymerized into valuable phenolic monomers prior to utilization of the hemicellulose and cellulose. Herein, we report a biomimetic Fenton catalyzed SLD process, converting sweet sorghum bagasse into an organic oil that is rich in phenolic monomers and a solid carbohydrate that is favorable for enzymatic hydrolysis into sugars. Initially, the feedstock’s molecular structure was modified through iron chelation and free radical oxidation via Fenton’s reagent (Fe³⁺, H₂O₂). The lignin component of the modified feedstock was then selectively depolymerized in supercritical ethanol (250 °C, 6.5 MPa) under nitrogen to produce a phenolic oil, with a maximum yield of 75.8 wt %. Six valuable phenolic monomers were detected in this oil, with a maximum cumulative yield of 19.1 wt %. The solid carbohydrate obtained after the SLD process was enzymatically hydrolyzed to liberate 62.7 and 79.9 wt % of the initial 5- and 6-carbon polysaccharides within 24 h, respectively, indicating the majority of the hemicellulose and cellulose were preserved during the SLD process. Fenton modification not only increased the yields of phenolic monomers, particularly ethyl-<i>p</i>-coumarate and ethyl-ferulate, but also enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis